|
IncredibleIgloo posted:Also, gently caress Vail. JFC. I hope they end up selling off Whistler.
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 19:28
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 13:19 |
|
|
Scarf posted:With the exception of the back bowls, Vail is pretty boring. The town included... Imo Beaver Creek is the best resort on Epic in along I-70. Super fast steep groomers, on a powder day everyone stops at Breck and Vail. Grouse mountain is soooooo loving fun, so steep, so good. Rose bowl, awesome. Black bear glades and stone creek chutes just give them too me all day in powder. Strawberry Park and the sneaky front side trees! oh man. Almost never a lift line, on a slammed pow day long is maybe 10 min. Place rules.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 19:30
|
|
|
HookShot posted:JFC. I hope they end up selling off Whistler. This is probably one of the list likely things. Whistler's name recognition has o be a total cash cow.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 19:31
|
|
|
Scarf posted:With the exception of the back bowls, Vail is pretty boring. The town included... I stayed in Avon for a month and rode Beaver Creek nearly every day. I went to Vail once and did not like it nearly as much. Beaver Creek was never as crowded as Vail got, so that is at least one thing going for it. What did you find so disappointing about Beaver Creek? I know it definitely has significantly less advanced terrain and is targeted to families, but I was able to find enjoyable runs and sights every day and was entertained for a whole month there. In my case though, I prefer to ski groomed runs and intermediate runs, which the mountain seems to cater to. I do believe that the high price is almost by design, as you say, to keep the "riff raff" out, but what I think they end up doing is keeping mostly proficient skiers out. Without a doubt BC had the rudest, most selfish, and worst skiers of any resort I have ever been to. I was surprised daily how entitled some of the guests acted. The resort also seems set up to be extremely expensive to stay on mountain or in their little village, but the town gondola is so convenient you can just as easily stay there for significantly less. After paying 140 a day or so at both Sun and Deer Valley I just can't go to these big resorts without getting the associated pass. When I was in BC in February they got some pretty decent snow and one morning after a powder dump the Ritz Carlton at Bachelor Gulch was, I poo poo you not, selling parking for $400. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 19:42
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:This is probably one of the list likely things. Whistler's name recognition has o be a total cash cow. Yeah, which is too bad. With the borders closed for a whole season I was hoping it would convince them to get out of Canada but I agree it’s very unlikely.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 20:21
|
|
|
A primer on the Wasatch backcountry vibe: Enhance  Enhance  They made it out successfully so must have known what they were doing! Our group toured 2500 vertical feet of ~40 degree terrain that day on just a 3 mile tour, and two days later we were able to tick off Mt Superior proper under all-green avvy conditions. Otherworldly bucket-list poo poo, I'm going to be chasing that experience for a long time.  
Spime Wrangler fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Mar 11, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 21:32
|
|
|
loving sick
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 21:37
|
|
|
Yeaaaaah buddy! Superior is one of the classic descents of north america, and in general the central wasatch is just... full of poo poo like that. I love these mountains, glad you got to experience them!
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 22:20
|
|
|
I here I took you to....the super fun southeast facing 28 degree, trending to 15 degree, gully on Vail pass....
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 23:48
|
|
|
the Epic pass for Aus this year includes free* epic insurance and the return of half price buddy passes, along with all the international Epic resort passes. *the price has risen by the same amount as Epic insurance. I dunno personally I would have liked them to cut out the international resort days since that is very clearly not-gonna-happen.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 23:52
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:I here I took you to....the super fun southeast facing 28 degree, trending to 15 degree, gully on Vail pass.... ... for a rad day of skiing untracked pow! Some of the best turns we've had all year.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 23:59
|
|
|
Scarf posted:But what I can't understand is why people ride Beaver Creek... I rode there on a buddy-pass a few seasons ago (which was still like $125 I think?) and the only thing I can remember about the entire day is thinking, "man, I'd be loving pissed to pay $200 for this." My friends informed me that they purposefully try to price-out the "riff raff" and keep the crowds small. This was my experience too. Talking to some dude from Boulder on a lift, it sounds like Birds of Prey is the reason to go to BC, although spwrozek makes some good points too. I just found myself doing a lot of traversing between different areas of the mountain. I should have waxed my skis before we went, and it certainly didn't help that Grouse Mountain wasn't open when I was there 
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 00:52
|
|
|
Last run of the day yesterday, I was charging down some fairly mellow terrain that was still steep enough to build up some good speed. Right before I dumped out onto the groomer under the chair at the bottom of the resort, I hit a concealed rock dead on with the front of my right ski, which immediately ripped off. Hurt a good bit just from the force, but the binding did its job. I only quickly glanced at the damage on the hill since I was trying to get down in time for a meeting, but at the time a 6" section of the edge was covered in frozen mud... I checked out the damage when I got home: About 1.5" of the edge/base in front of the binding is like this:  and then I'm like 99.9% sure this is new:  This may be the last straw for these skis I originally bought about 9 years ago; 2012 Moment Jaguar Sharks. I'd just gotten a base grind for them, too. I originally bought them when Moment was having a big sale, and I wanted the Bibby Pro, but the 190cm were out of stock, and I kinda stretched and ordered the 196cm. After ordering it, it became clear that the 196 were actually the Bibby Special, an entirely different ski (196cm 150/116/123 vs 190cm 143/118/134), and I didn't want that, so I switched to the Jaguar Shark at 192cm. Since then I've really loved the ski, but have sometimes wanted a ski for days where I want to do a little more tight maneuvering (chutes, tight trees, rock gardens, etc), which the Jaguar Sharks are a bit hard for because they ski fairly long and heavy, no tail rocker. Looking for something to complement my quiver with at least tail rocker if not try something without camber. Then I remembered that the Wildcat is the Bibby Pro, and I fuckin love the top sheet. https://www.momentskis.com/products/wildcat  why shouldn't i smash buy right now
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 04:16
|
|
|
Steve French posted:why shouldn't i smash buy right now As somebody who buys skis based mostly on the topsheet, you should absolutely smash buy right now.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 04:24
|
|
|
Moogs posted:As somebody who buys skis based mostly on the topsheet, you should absolutely smash buy right now. Well, here are the Jaguar Sharks  And here is what they replaced  So you might be able to imagine me being the same sort of person.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 04:45
|
|
|
The obvious solution is to buy them both. Because yeah if you’re not buying based on top sheet what are you even doing with your life?
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 05:19
|
|
|
HookShot posted:The obvious solution is to buy them both. I mean, not that I in any way would shy away from the idea of buying two pairs of skis at once, but there were three different skis mentioned and I already own two of them. Got a suggestion for the other half of the both? I was thinking maybe the Commander
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 05:32
|
|
|
HookShot posted:The obvious solution is to buy them both. I buy based on extensive demoing  I think I demoed 8 skis in 3 days when I bought my most recent pair
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 05:47
|
|
|
Alternative to buying based on topsheet: buying based on BASE
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 06:08
|
|
|
good loving looks buddy
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 07:00
|
|
|
I don't buy on bases because mine are minimum 50% ptex
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 07:44
|
|
|
The Glumslinger posted:I buy based on extensive demoing I think after set #3 I would probably just end up confusing myself and leaving with nothing. At that point it's like... Wait, what didn't I like about the first set again?
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 18:58
|
|
|
A-Basin announced today they are keeping capacity limits in place for 21-22; planning to decrease season pass sales by 10% and cap daily lift ticket sales, all of which must be bought in advance. It's been a little while since I lived in CO, so it doesn't effect me right now, but it will be interesting to see if other operators follow.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 19:16
|
|
|
Uncle Lloyd posted:A-Basin announced today they are keeping capacity limits in place for 21-22; planning to decrease season pass sales by 10% and cap daily lift ticket sales, all of which must be bought in advance. It's been a little while since I lived in CO, so it doesn't effect me right now, but it will be interesting to see if other operators follow. spwrozek posted:I am going with keeping reservations and loving over locals somehow more. Got to make it more elite with minimal lift lines. And the price goes up double. This was my prediction for Vail... I am kinda over A-Basin. They and a lot of people who ski there try to play it up about the vibe and whatever. They took Vail money for 20+ years to build out the resort. It is just as corporate and like any other resort. Now instead of trying to be inclusive (let's be honest Loveland and A-basin are the only places close to Denver that casual or poorer people can afford to go to) they are going do the preserve the snow and be elite route imo.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 20:33
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:This was my prediction for Vail... So, I only took up skiing about 5 years ago, but during that time I have seen countless news stories that "Skiing is a dying sport/industry", and that the amount of new hobbyists is decreasing. Now I obviously have not been to the vast majority of the resorts on the continent, but nearly every resort I have been to has been mega crowded on the weekends, and charging an astronomical amount of money. Even the more affordable resorts are edging out the ability for people with limited income to ride and are facing big crowds on the weekend. It seems like many resorts are fiscally able to charge a fortune and stay above water. I am interested to know and understand better the long term implications of the widening wealth gap and income inequality and how it impacts the ski industry. If I had to guess I do not see the ski industry going away at all, just becoming a more and more exclusive interest. Perhaps the ski industry will just coalesce into a dyad of Vail and Alterra with them eventually owning all the major resorts, somewhat similar to AMD/Intel, iOS/Android, or other situations in which two companies divide the majority of the market. On the concept of cost of skiing though, I can see there is a major initial investment that is a hard hurdle to get over. Assuming you have a car that can reliably do the driving, the cost of the helmet, the goggles, the clothes, riding equipment, etc... is still very high. It would not be unreasonable to say that even with used equipment you are looking at $700 or so to get set up before you even buy lift tickets. I drove a Nissan Sentra so I pretty much had to buy a new car for the hobby, so that was obviously a cost. I may also be unusual in that I only had to equip myself for the hobby at first, then eventually my son. I would imagine most people trying to outfit the family of 4 or whatever would be prohibitively expensive. On the other hand, the local single chair resort has a family season pass for about $450 that includes lift tickets and equipment rentals for the whole season, so I guess there are some options to get into the hobby for less.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 20:50
|
|
|
Mad River Season Update: I've made it out a lot; today might be the last, especially if maple sugar season turns into a real thing as usual over the next week. I took our 4 year old a total of 3 times, and she's now been up the single chair on my lap to the midstation 4 times and up the double chair next to me three times. I used a harness and had her between my legs and she's clearly understanding a lot and capable of actually skiing for some distances, so I'm real happy with progress there and confident about dumping her in a kid's clinic next year. I took her for 2 hours today, then went back myself for 3 more runs to see what the top was like; "not great". Equal parts hoping your end-of-season wax is still good because of dirt/grass patches, and hoping your wax sucks because everything else was ice. I still had plenty of fun, but if that's the way the season ends, I think I extracted my midweek pass value. I stopped counting how many times I made it out but it's been 2x a week every time that's been possible weather wise.  Don't eat the brown acid. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 01:28
|
|
|
It's pretty dire here in NJ since we had 70 degree weather. Yesterday at night practice some of the kids had sparks shooting off their edges as they bombed it across exposed granite slabs. I'm hoping Stowe holds enough snow for my trip later. This is the last weekend of practice and next weekend is supposed to be closing day but I'm not sure the base will make it that long.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 04:18
|
|
|
Got back from skiing for the first time ever at Seven Springs this week. I'm almost shook by how much easier it is to pick up than snowboarding - I feel like mountain biking definitely helped with that. In the first few hours I was able to carve consistently and keep a good rhythm going. I think my favorite thing about it is how effortless it feels to build up and maintain speed. That said, I still find doing quick turns and cuts on a snowboard to be way more satisfying. Maybe it's my surfing background (plus having years of boarding experience already) but on skis I only wanted to go fast because nothing else was doing it for me. This kind of sucks when you're mainly riding at PA resorts because I always found myself waiting on the lift, wishing I had access to longer runs. That said, mission accomplished because my old lady is leagues better at skiing than the last time she went forever ago, which means I can go back to my board without leaving her behind.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 05:55
|
|
|
IncredibleIgloo posted:So, I only took up skiing about 5 years ago, but during that time I have seen countless news stories that "Skiing is a dying sport/industry", and that the amount of new hobbyists is decreasing. Now I obviously have not been to the vast majority of the resorts on the continent, but nearly every resort I have been to has been mega crowded on the weekends, and charging an astronomical amount of money. Even the more affordable resorts are edging out the ability for people with limited income to ride and are facing big crowds on the weekend. It seems like many resorts are fiscally able to charge a fortune and stay above water. There is absolutely no way that skiing is a dying industry. Resorts continue to add lifts and more obscure resorts are becoming mainstream and despite that crowds are continuing to increase. I don't know the sales numbers, but they have got to be through the roof. I also don't know that it's becoming more exclusive. It's definitely easier to travel to resorts and book accomodations. Window ticket prices are crazy high, but multi resort passes are semi reasonably priced and much more common than in the past. In my experience way more people I know go to resorts than they did when I was younger though it's also possible that has to do with a change in who I know. asur fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Mar 13, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 16:09
|
|
|
Ordering my mom some skis and bindings. A 95mm brake would work fine with a 90mm waist, right?
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 18:01
|
|
|
Yes
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 18:16
|
|
|
Thanks, only bought ski bindings once and the brake/waist size difference was much larger, wasn’t sure how much room was needed.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 18:42
|
|
|
A lot of times you can fit a brake with a stated with that is narrower than the waist width. I've put 95mm pivots on a 100mm ski and didn't need to bend the brakes.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 18:45
|
|
|
That’s exactly what I got her, thanks. Happy birthday madre.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 18:50
|
|
|
The article linked below indicates that Vail, as a whole, had 59% of their resort visitors as passholders last year, but this year it was 71%. I guess the pandemic must have deterred a lot of people who only go opportunistically or a few days a season, and perhaps even allowed a lot of the pass holders to hit the mountain more often. I know I ran into a manager from work at the local mountain earlier this year on a one of his wfh day (a normal day off for me though), so I get the feeling that wfh might have allowed some people to dip off to the mountain for a few runs during the day. https://www.parkrecord.com/news/business/vail-resorts-reports-losses-in-second-quarter/ Has anyone here completed the Colorado State University Ski Area Management master's certificate? I am wondering if the program is any good, and since I have an interest in the business side of things have been contemplating completing this program to set myself up for a "retirement" job. Perhaps leaving my current line of work at 50 and then working in the ski industry until real retirement. I doubt I will do it, but just something I was kicking around. https://www.online.colostate.edu/certificates/ski-area-management/
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 19:28
|
|
|
Macnult posted:Got back from skiing for the first time ever at Seven Springs this week. Skiing is way easier to pick up than boarding, but some say it's harder to get to an expert level on skis (I tend to agree.) Being a boarder already helps a ton because you already intuitively understand how edges work and how to carve. I agree that when I ski, I just want to go FAST and do bigass sweeping carves, whereas on a board I want to toodle around in the trees, hit drops, explore, etc etc. Re: skiing industry chat, season passes (not to mention epic and ikon) are pretty much as cheap as they have ever been - season passes actually dropped in price a bunch over the last couple of decades though they are slowly rising again. It's more crowded and gear might cost more, but if you buy a pass it's cheaper than ever for actual access (it's also way busier.)
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 22:02
|
|
|
Can someone who both snowboards and skis tell me what the physical strength and stressor differences are between the two? I have an ankle injury from the military that seems to make itself seen a lot when I ski, but I have done that for 5 years now and seem to know it pretty well. Interested to know if ankles come into play on the snowboard. When I ski now, my "Limiting factor" is almost always feet pain as opposed to cardio difficulty. Like I need to take a break because my feet just cannot go on any further. Is snowboarding a different animal? Depressingly I am a pretty hefty person, if that has any impact on the answer. For those interested: The ankle injury occurred when I was originally in Army ROTC at UP in 2001. We were told to trust our "commanders" and whatnot, even the cadet ones. I was doing a repelling exercise and we utilized the "Swiss Seat" and simple tools. I knew the guy checking me out was a moron, and made the stupidest decision of my life. He said, "Oh, you got it wrong", and "fixed" me. I didn't believe in myself. I didn't trust myself and gave into the fallacy of authority. The guy had me set up all wrong. I went off the building and there was no resistance. Luckily I only fell about 50 feet. Well, fell, that's not the right word. I arrested my fall with leather gloves on the rope. In the most surprising thing that ever happened in my life, they loving caught on fire. Like there was that much friction. It happened so fast, and things were so weird, I just crashed to the ground, my leg hurt like crazy, and I grabbed it! Then I was like "Holy gently caress! how is my leg now on fire!?" So, beyond that crazy bullshit, I really did hurt my left ankle and it is significantly weaker than my right, but for some reason is the one I almost always put downhill. Also: I am terrified of heights and high speeds. I understand I chose the absolute worst hobby.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2021 10:53
|
|
|
IncredibleIgloo posted:Can someone who both snowboards and skis tell me what the physical strength and stressor differences are between the two? I have an ankle injury from the military that seems to make itself seen a lot when I ski, but I have done that for 5 years now and seem to know it pretty well. Interested to know if ankles come into play on the snowboard. When I ski now, my "Limiting factor" is almost always feet pain as opposed to cardio difficulty. Like I need to take a break because my feet just cannot go on any further. Is snowboarding a different animal? Depressingly I am a pretty hefty person, if that has any impact on the answer. Is there a specific type of movement that triggers your pain? Moving your foot up and down, side to side? I feel like due to the stiffness of your boots, it takes the pressure off the ankles and puts it on your knees and hips. I do feel like maybe snowboarding might hurt my ankles more because my boots flex more and the rotated stance could cause some issue but overall with both sports your ankles are pretty safe, it's the knees you have to worry about. After switching to skiing, I totally understand how people are blowing out their knees on a daily basis. Heavy skis with heavy boots and long swing weight and your legs independent of one another ... Inexperienced skiers without well developed legs/muscles used to the sport could tweak a knee so easily. On a side note, yesterday we are spring skiing up at Baker and while on the lift we watched a few girls ride a 6 foot drop out of the trees, the first two went and everybody cheered but then you could see the third was apprehensive. Everybody in the lift was telling to send it and you could tell she was nervous. She went, landed it but was going faster than she could control and was back chairing all the way across the run until she hit a bump and popped out of her skis, and then managed to hit a tiny tree and ragdolled the rest of the way down the run and was unable to stop. It was a good reminder to listen to the people on the lift and do the exact opposite.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2021 18:48
|
|
|
Great weekend at snowbird save for today's crowds. Lots of wind and lots of windbuff. Many wind slabs but not deep enough to be a hazard where I was. Then on the way down, white pine trailhead was closed due to an avalanche on the pfeifferhorn. Sounds like no deaths but yeah... Wind slabs are dangerous. https://twitter.com/UACwasatch/status/1371166525852315649
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2021 20:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 13:19 |
|
|
The foot pain is mostly linked to conditions, actually. It is almost absent on a crisp groomer, but on choppy snow at the end of the day it is a lot worse, or if there has been a few inches of snow after the grooming was completed. It seems to be related to turning and slowing, so perhaps it could be form related, or boot flex is wrong, maybe.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2021 20:09
|
|